A developer has again withdrawn plans for a massive fulfillment center warehouse in Benner Township, but the project may still happen.
In a letter to the Centre County Planning Office dated Feb. 9, developer SunCap Property Group formally withdrew the land development plan for the proposed 1-million-square-foot facility in Benner Commerce Park, according to the county Planning Commission’s agenda for Tuesday night.
SunCap’s Brian Dunn indicated the reason for the withdrawal “is the applicant is desirous of submitting a new site plan,” county subdivision and land development planner Christopher Schnure wrote in an email to StateCollege.com.
Dunn did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
It marks the second time SunCap has withdrawn plans for the facility on a 103-acre site along Penntech Drive.
A plan was first submitted in April 2022 for the warehouse, which would employ nearly 700 people and have 70 to 80 tractor trailer bays, according to a presentation to the Board of Commissioners at the time.
What company would be operating the warehouse has not been revealed and SunCap has declined comment, citing nondisclosure agreements. Former Commissioner Michael Pipe said in 2022 the county only knew that it would be a “warehouse for e-commerce.”
The first land development plan was withdrawn just weeks after it became public, but SunCap submitted a similar plan in August 2022.
According to a presentation about the initial plans, the warehouse would employ 370 workers on day shift and 313 on night shift, as well as seasonal employees. Plans showed 900 parking spaces on the west side of the building and 70 to 80 tractor-trailer bays on the east and south sides.
Primary access to the building would be from Venture Drive. A traffic impact study identified “very minimal improvements” needed to manage traffic flow because of the proximity to the Interstate 99 interchange, Schnure said in 2022. A traffic signal would be installed at Penntech Drive and Benner Pike, which the commerce park had long planned.
Commissioner Steve Dershem said at the time that he had some concerns about not knowing what business would be operating such a large-scale facility.
Nittany Valley Environmental Coalition and the Sierra Group Moshannon Club representatives also raised concerns about the environmental impact of the site’s large amount of impervious surface on the wild trout waters of nearby Logan Branch and the the township’s karst aquifers, springs and water supplies.
Greg Scott, president and CEO of the Chamber of Business and Industry of Centre County, said in 2022 that the project would be “a game-changer” and the largest in the county in more than 50 years.
“This project is exactly what the CBICC and Centre County leaders envisioned with the creation of Benner Commerce Park 10 years ago, and we are now about to reap the benefits of that vision,” Scott said in a statement. “This project is what the park was invented for.”
